


These Little Moments

by enigma_kar



Category: Star Trek, Star Trek: Alternate Original Series (Movies)
Genre: Fluff and Angst, Hopeful Ending, Hurt/Comfort, Implied Relationships, Multi, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Star Trek Beyond Spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-24
Updated: 2016-07-24
Packaged: 2018-07-26 09:21:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,129
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7568746
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/enigma_kar/pseuds/enigma_kar
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Because sometimes it's the little moments that have the biggest impacts. A few extra scenes from the final part of Star Trek Beyond.</p>
            </blockquote>





	These Little Moments

**Author's Note:**

> Obvious spoilers for the new Star Trek Beyond film.  
> All mistakes are my own.  
> This was written because there was so much Jim/Bones potential in those final scenes of Beyond. It can be read as either friendship or established relationship, that's entirely up to you. Enjoy!

**These Little Moments**

Despite his inexperience, Leonard lands their hijacked swarm ship near perfectly and then immediately leaps from it as though afraid he may be asked to fly it again. He turns to the others, adrenaline still coursing through him and worry written across his face. Without hesitation, he pulls Jim up and into his arms, holding as tight as he dares. Their embrace is perhaps a fraction longer than is customary for a captain and his CMO, but Leonard could not care less. Only Spock is close enough to notice, and he’s still slowly extracting his long frame from the swarm ship.

“Bones,” Jim’s breath ghosts across Leonard’s cheek, so warm and full of life, and then he is pulling back and they regard each other. Jim’s face is a mess of tiny cuts, and Leonard doesn’t fail to notice the way he favours his right leg. But the captain is alive and breathing and it takes Leonard a lot of will power to stop himself collapsing in relief.

“I’ve got you, Jim,” Leonard replies automatically.

“What would I do without you?” Jim says, a smile curving his lips. Leonard huffs out a laugh at that, and then satisfied that Jim's injuries do not require urgent attention he turns away to help Spock stand upright beside them.

“You okay, Spock?”

“Perfectly fine, captain.”

“Like hell you are,” Leonard mutters, his eyes narrowing at the half-Vulcan's too pale face, but the bitterness in his voice fades quickly because Jim is still smiling at him and it’s the most infectious thing Leonard’s ever seen. “What?”

“I just never thought I’d see the day,” he shakes his head and Leonard is confused enough to share a small look with Spock. “You, flying that craft, when you once had to drink yourself into unconsciousness to even catch a shuttle back on Earth.”

A smile tugs at Leonard’s mouth, but he doesn’t say anything. He doesn’t need to. They both know that, despite any aviophobia, Leonard would make the same decisions again and again if it meant saving a life; if it meant saving Jim’s life. And Spock knows it too, judging by the way he bows his head slightly in acknowledgement.  

“Oh come on then,” Leonard says, breaking the moment. “I’m taking you both to medical.” He must be truly exhausted because Leonard isn’t prepared for the protests that follow that statement.

“I’m not going anywhere until-”

“I wish to find Lieutenant Uhura-”

“-the rest of the crew are safe and being treated!”

“-before I am seen to. My injuries-”

“And  _you_ should get looked at first-”

“-are not of import.”

“-being a doctor does not excuse you.”

Leonard holds his hands up in surrender and their arguments cease. “Fine,” he relents.

The three of them stagger forward; Spock bending over his wound again, Jim limping, and Bones wiping blood off his face. It takes less than a minute for Starfleet officials to be on them, escorting them towards the crashed Franklin and the remainder of the crew.

Spock actually breaks into an attempted run when he sees Uhura, despite Leonard's yelled warning. He briefly considers chasing after the pointy-eared idiot, but then Uhura is there with hands that gently cup Spock's face and Leonard knows she'll take care of him. He turns away, seeking out the rest of the crew. Sulu and Chekov are helping others out of the wreckage. A tall man, who Leonard recognises as Sulu’s husband, is helping alongside them. A number of others from medical are making bandages and treating the more severely injured before Yorktown paramedics arrive. There are even some handing out water and food. Jim is already stepping towards them, when an arm stops him.

“You’re with me, Captain Kirk.”

There’s a warning blaze in Jim’s eyes as he turns to face the Starfleet officer. “I will see to my crew first.”

“Rest assured, they will be looked after. You need to be briefed and Commodore Paris wishes to see you.”

“I’m not going anywhere-”

“Jim,” Leonard interrupts, a hand gently placed on his captain’s forearm. The fury on Jim’s face diminishes slightly. “Go. I’ve got this.”

The mixture of emotions on Jim’s face is obvious enough that Leonard can almost hear his internal thoughts. “Jim-”

But the other man shakes his head. “Thanks Bones.”

Leonard just nods, letting his hand drop from Jim’s arm. And as he watches Jim’s retreating form he knows, in that moment, that Jim will not accept the promotion to admiral.

~ *XX* ~

It’s not until days later, in that calm period after the initial chaos and before the official enquiries, when he’s back in his small Starfleet-issue Yorktown room that Leonard allows himself to collapse; the weight of recent events bringing him to his knees the moment the door snicks shut behind him. He makes it to the single bed eventually, sitting heavily and resting his head in his hands.

He loves his job, and he knows that he can only control so much and that disasters will inevitably happen and that he  _will_ lose people, friends, family, lovers. But at the end of the day, he’s still human and it  _fucking hurts._ And when his mind isn't filled with the images of the dead, all he sees is his own hand gripping the smooth metal of the phaser. The intrusive thoughts refuse to leave him be, and again and again he watches himself squeezing the trigger and shooting to kill in a way that no doctor should. The logical part of him (which sounds annoyingly like Spock), reminds him it was for protection; that it was kill or be killed or watch his friends be killed. And yet he can't shake the sickening feeling of his finger on the trigger. He knows it's going to haunt him in the same way that the vision of Jim's dead body will.  

The door opens abruptly, startling him. Only two other people know the code to that door, and only one of them would use it without first knocking…

“Hello Jim,” Leonard mutters softly, looking up.

“Hey Bones,” Jim says, matching the gentle tone. He drops a bottle on a nearby table and takes a small step into the centre of the room.

Leonard’s body moves then, without conscious thought, rising, walking towards Jim and enveloping him in a crushing hug. And Jim melts into him, no longer able to keep up his pretence of suave, fearless captain. For those few long moments, Jim is nothing more than the kid Leonard first met all those years ago. He brings a hand up to rub circles around the tight base of Jim’s neck and elicits a sobbing moan from the younger man. They cling to each other for a long time; Jim heaving deep breaths into Leonard’s shoulder, while the older man presses kisses to his temple and simply concentrates on the beating of their hearts.

It’s been days since they’ve seen each other for longer than brief moments. They’ve all had their duties to perform, leaving little time for anything else. Leonard sometimes thinks that’s how Starfleet plans it: keep everyone so busy they don’t have time to concentrate on the mass loss. It catches up with them in the end though, as it always will. And this has become almost habit for them: Jim seeking out Leonard for that support, that physical embrace that reminds them both that they are still okay and they  _will_ be okay. And Leonard seeking Jim to remind him of all that is good in his world. They both need this.  

When Jim eventually, almost reluctantly, pushes away, Leonard lets him and watches as he walks over to the ancient sofa in the corner of the room, scrubbing any evidence of tears off his face as he does. Leonard follows, collecting the bottle of scotch from where Jim left it by the door and glasses.

“You’ve taken to stealing Chekov’s scotch too, I see?”

Jim shakes his head and nods towards the bottle, where an almost undetectable note is attached. Frowning, Leonard reads the neat handwriting.

_This bottle is for you._

_All other bottles are mine. Do not steal anymore. Please._

“It was outside your door when I arrived,” Jim says.

“Well he sure has grown up, hasn’t he?” Leonard says, letting pride seep into his voice. He pours them both a generous measure and sits down on the sofa beside Jim. Wordlessly, they raise their glasses and drink deeply.

Leonard allows the silence to carry for a few more moments before speaking. “You okay?”

“I will be,” Jim says, like he always does and Leonard knows that’s the closest to the truth he will get.

“Well you still worry me, kid,” Leonard says.

“You worry too much,” Jim replies, but bumps Leonard’s shoulder gently with his own in a mute apology.

“Comes with the job.”

“I’m fine, Bones. And if I’m not, you’ll always be there to fix me up, or hijack a foreign spacecraft and come rescue me,” Jim says, a smirk tugging at this lips.

“Damn right,” Leonard says gruffly, resolutely  _not_ thinking of when Jim’s cold lifeless body was lying in his med bay and how he didn’t know if he’d be able to go on.

“But, you know,” Jim continues, seemingly determined to lighten the mood now, “if you’re still worried I could ask Spock if he has another one of those necklaces. You could always keep an eye on me with a radioactive tracker.”

Leonard snorts. “Don’t tempt me.”

“I could get one for you too. We could keep an eye on each other.”

“Matching jewellery? Really, Jim? I didn’t think we were that old and married.”

“Give it time,” Jim says winking and Leonard manages an eye roll in response.

They sit for nearly an hour, talking and drinking and reminiscing until Leonard feels ten pounds lighter and almost like his old self again. When Jim reaches for the scotch bottle a second time, Leonard stops him. “Let’s go out,” he says. “You can buy me a drink.”

“What for?” Jim demands, screwing up his face.

Fixing him with a look and a raised eyebrow, Leonard doesn’t say anything. Jim concedes with a sigh and a serious nod as though Leonard has made a particularly good point in a debate. 

“Here, put this on,” Leonard says, rising from the sofa and throwing an old beaten jacket in Jim’s direction.

“Matching jackets? Really, Bones?” Jim mimics.

“I’m not having you catch a cold...” Leonard trails off, muttering darkly about the risks of an artificial atmosphere on a base like Yorktown. Jim just smirks and shrugs the jacket on, clearly amused by this turn of events which sees them in near matching outfits.

They’re at the front gate of the accommodation complex, when Jim slips a hand into Leonard’s and stops him.

“What?”

“I just…” Jim takes a deep breath. “Thanks Bones.”

“Don’t mention it, Jim,” Leonard says, smiling. He squeezes Jim’s hand before letting go and throwing an arm casually around his shoulders. And he doesn’t need to look over at Jim’s face to know he’s smiling too.

~ *XX* ~

“Thank you for this, Bones,” Jim says.

They are standing, watching the Enterprise be rebuilt. Jim has spent the past few hours talking to every single person in the room, listening to their stories and their heartbreak. Watching that, and now watching the shining light reflecting from the ship panels into Jim’s eyes, Leonard wonders how he ever even considered leaving.

“It was nothing,” Leonard lies.

“He also had help,” Spock says from Jim’s other side and Leonard throws him a playful glare.

Jim beams. “You conspired together to essentially throw me a surprise birthday party? Please someone pinch me, I think I’m dreaming.”

Spock’s face is impassive and Leonard tries to look disgusted, but… Jim’s smile is still horribly infectious and he can’t pull it off.

“Perhaps we should abandon them on a planet together more often, captain?” Uhura suggests, apparently overhearing as she steps up beside Spock and takes his hand in hers.

“Your suggestion is noted, lieutenant,” Jim replies easily.

“If it means more parties, then I second that motion,” Sulu adds.

“I third it,” Chekov says. And Leonard feels, more than hears, the rest of the crew gather around them all gazing up at the new Enterprise.

“Then we’re agreed,” Jim says. He turns and smiles fully at Leonard, who shakes his head disbelievingly.

“You really wanna head back out there, huh?”

“I really do,” Jim says earnestly, despite  _everything_.

There’s a soft murmur of assent from everyone at those words. And as Leonard glances around at them all, faces full of hope and determination, he realises that he wouldn’t want it any other way.


End file.
